Republicans look divided on civil liberties

On issues like immigration and terrorism, past and present Presidential hopefuls in the GOP are looking increasingly split.

Crowning these recent conflicts was senator Rand Paul's filibuster, an attempt to get President Obama to respond to questions on the use of drones. Marc Sidwell writes:

Rand Paul, the junior senator for Kentucky, stood for 13 hours to delay the appointment of John Brennan as head of the CIA. Brennan is a key architect of President Obama’s controversial drone strike policy, which claims the right to kill US citizens without due process even on American soil.

But individuals such as Republican senator and previous Presidential candidate John McCain crossed the floor to defend the administration's use of drone strikes saying that Paul's arguments did not match his "showmanship".

Other internal debates that Republicans must resolve include gun control and immigration. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa was the only Republican on the Judiciary Committee this week to vote with Democrats to make it a felony to buy a gun for someone who could not pass a background check.

Regarding immigration, Romney and other GOP candidates did poorly among Hispanic voters, many of whom see the party's immigration policies as a slap at all Latinos.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is heading a Republican effort to craft immigration legislation to counter Obama's proposals.

Another prominent Republican, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, created a stir this week by saying he did not support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, even if they have lived peacefully for years in the United States. Bush, whose father and brother were presidents, tried to soften the comments later, but they served to remind everyone that Republicans face difficult debates over immigration.